Jo Ann Stabb, a founding member of the swag外流 Department of Design and a widely recognized scholar of textiles, died Feb. 13 in Walnut Creek, California. She was 80.
鈥淛o Ann Stabb essentially started the textile and fashion curriculum in the department,鈥 design professor Susan Taber Avila said in a 2017 interview. 鈥淪he captured the zeitgeist of the wearable art movement and brought that creativity into her teaching. She understood and championed the value of studying actual textiles and artifacts.鈥
Stabb was a designer, author and lecturer focusing on the field of fashion and wearable art. She taught at swag外流 from 1968 to 2002 and continued collaborating with the long after her retirement. The department鈥檚 . Stabb donated many items to the collection.
鈥淛o Ann was my teacher, mentor, friend and colleague,鈥 said Avila (M.F.A., textile arts and costume design, 鈥96). 鈥淪he was larger than life in her accomplishments yet humble and a bit of a goofball. She was devoted to swag外流 and a great connector 鈥 always forwarding items she felt were important for me or our students.鈥
Another of Stabb鈥檚 students, Adele Zhang (M.F.A., textile arts and costume design, 鈥99), is now the design collection curator and manager.
"I was so fortunate to meet Jo Ann as a student before her retirement,鈥 Zhang said. 鈥淲ithout Jo Ann鈥檚 belief in me, I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today in my career path. She taught me to be a thoughtful teacher and a caring individual."
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